Minimalism - Online Income - ESL - Japan
My general observations from living in Japan.
When I first came to Japan, I couldn’t speak the language at all. I had bought a phrase book and tape which I listened to a few times, but never got much out of. I remember pulling out the book and asking a ticket clerk what time the next train for Nagoya was, but he kept telling me the time now. It wasn’t till much later that I realized that […]
To celebrate Mami’s pregnancy, we went out for yakiniku with her mum, sister and her husband. Yakiniku restaurants are big business in Japan, and are often so crowded you have to wait ages to get a seat, as we did on Sunday. Once seated though, we got to experience the next step in restaurant technology by ordering from a computerized menu. The menu looks like an oversized gameboy with a […]
When I first came to Japan in 1997, the big chain school I worked at recommended all its teachers to open a bank account at Tokai Bank because of its proximity to the head office and the fact that the ATMs had English guidance. Soon after though, Tokai merged with Sanwa Bank and all the ATMs were replaced with the later bank’s Japanese-only machines. This caused long queues and much […]
To the rest of the world he’s known as Prince Harry, but in Japan, they call him Henry. And silly me, I was quick to point out their mistake until I decided to write about it. Being British myself, you would expect me to know that Prince Harry’s real name is Prince Henry of Wales, and the Japanese were right all along. Thank you Wikipedia for correcting me. You have […]
But I do take a shower. Baths in Japan are quite different from what I was used to in the U.K. Instead of a place to wash, a Japanese bathtub is a place to relax. Famous for its hot springs, Japan also has many public baths, and people here aren’t too embarrassed to strip off and jump in a bath with a complete stranger. At home, the whole family will […]
I love chocolate. I want chocolate. I need chocolate. I used to be a skinny teenager, so my mum would keep a stash of chocolate bars in the fridge for me to have everyday to help me gain weight. Unfortunately, I’m still 6 feet tall and weigh a featherly 56kgs! On the bright side though, I can eat as much chocolate as I want and only need to worry about […]
“Kancho is the ancient art of clasping your hands together, and playfully poking your friend or enemy,…in the rear. It is also called “The Friendly Enema”, and is practiced by children in schoolyards and classrooms around the world. Kancho.org is dedicated to spreading the good news about Kancho.” Source: www.kancho.org When Japanese kids first started shoving their fingers up my bum about ten years ago, I was more confused than […]
The Japanese love to wear clothes with English on them because it supposedly looks cool, yet they often can’t understand what these slogans say. This week I had one student with the expression “No Time to Kill” emblazoned on her shirt, which although perfectly acceptable English, I doubt this housewife is busy enough to warrant wearing such a shirt! Clothing manufacturers take advantage of this ‘English is fashionable’ attitude and […]